Hyderabad HC Tells Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Not To Sack Non-Hindu Employees

The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday told the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) not to terminate from service its non-Hindu employees, allowing them to work until further orders, The News Minute has reported.

Around 44 Muslim and Christian employees of the trust had moved the High Court after they were issued notices on the ground that they were recruited in violation of the service rules of the institution.

In its order, the bench directed the non-Hindu staff to reply to the show-cause notices issued to them by the trust.

According to reports, rule 9(6) of the TTD employees service conditions prohibit the recruitment of non-Hindus in any role, including medical and educational. The employees have challenged the constitutional validity of the rule.

During the hearing on 14 February, the court had questioned the “sudden posture by authorities when they have not made any mention about such rules when recruiting these employees two decades ago.”

It had also questioned the validity of the rules, saying “If there are such rules, then we will verify the constitutional validity of such rules”.

“When non-Hindus can have the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara, why can’t they work in the TTD-run institutions?,” a division bench comprising Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice K Vijaya Lakshmi had questioned.

The court had also asked the trust to take action against its officials who had failed to comply with the rules while recruiting non-Hindus if it plans to “take action against these poor employees under 9(6)“.

The trust has said that its rules do not allow the recruitment of non-Hindus either in teaching or non-teaching categories, noting that it is “contemplating sending them to other State government departments.”